Rodeo: Tech coach Guay tough competitor in his day
By Brett Hoffman / Fort Worth Star-Telegram Staff Writer / Saturday, June 14, 2008When I first met Texas Tech rodeo coach Chris Guay, he busted a tough bronc at the 1986 College National Finals Rodeo in Bozeman, Mont. At the time, he was competing for Tarleton State, and since then, I've followed Guay's career as a competitor and as a college rodeo coach.
Today, he's an 11-year coach at Texas Tech who recently watched his women's team clinch the title in the National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association Southwest Region. Winning the Southwest Region is one big accomplishment because it's billed as a super region.
Only the top two teams and the top three competitors in each single event from the region will advance to the June 15-21 College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. Western Texas College also made the cut by convincingly winning the men's team title.
Before Guay, 45, became a rodeo coach, he was one salty competitor in the collegiate association and the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. But he had the presence of mind to get an education, knowing that there are no guarantees of making a great living in rodeo.
"By nature, cowboys are macho and tough, but you also have to realize that you must use your God-given talent to set yourself up after rodeo," Guay said. "You have to realize that you can't be 18 and bullet-proof forever. There were many times that I would sit in a chemistry class and I'd be punching my calculator and reasoning that if I won $500 at Mesquite consistently that I could make a living in rodeo."
Guay said one clear sign that he must continue to bust the college textbooks was in 1988 when he was sidelined for three months after breaking his right elbow at the Houston Livestock Show Rodeo.
"I started thinking that I had better get an education so that I could coach and teach," said Guay, who received a masters degree in agricultural education from Tarleton in 1989.
In 1997, Guay became Texas Tech's coach after heading up the rodeo program at Wharton Junior College for four years. Over the years, he has recruited competitors such as Lindsay Sears, Ryan Gray and Wes Stevenson, who earned a Texas Tech degree and went on to qualify for the National Finals Rodeo.
Texas Tech's women's team is comprised of Heather Turner, Romany Gordon, Tiana Thornton and Kelsy Friskup. Jake Brown of Texas Tech and Jaytin McCright of Clarendon College also advanced to the Casper championships; they won the regional team roping heading and heeling titles after roping together throughout the season.
After riding (he won a PRCA Texas Circuit title in 1991) and working on college campuses, Guay offers his athletes some great advice.
"I know what they are up against in terms of their time and finances," Guay said. "I tell them not to sell themselves short, that their degree is their insurance policy."
Brett Hoffman is a 20-year rodeo columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and a member of the Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame. He also writes a column for the Amarillo Globe-News. He can be reached at brett@myrodeoinsider.com.
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